ThinkingAfield.org

Organizations challenge decades-long diversion of interest revenue and warn that more than $11 million in annual federal wildlife funding could be at risk.

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Safari Club International (SCI), the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) are calling on Maine to end the alleged diversion of interest earned on funds designated for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), return money improperly retained by the state, and ensure compliance with state and federal law.

In a formal notice to Maine Attorney General Frey, the organizations challenged a practice they say has diverted interest earned on IFW funds to the state’s General Fund for more than three decades. SCI and its partners estimate that tens of millions of dollars have been diverted from resources to support Maine’s fish and wildlife agency.

The organizations contend that the practice violates the Maine Constitution, as well as federal requirements governing hunting and fishing license revenue. They are calling for immediate corrective action and are prepared to pursue all available remedies, including litigation, if the state fails to resolve the issue. Read more

Oct. 29, 2026

Contacts:

• For EHD reports: 517-336-5030
• For media calls: Brent Rudolph, 517-730-8802 or Scott Larsen, 517-336-5034

Hunter, community reports remain key factor in more robust location information

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease has affected deer in some parts of Michigan, and it’s important for hunters and local communities to have a clearer picture of where EHD is occurring on the landscape. To help on that front, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has developed a map that will be updated over the coming weeks to show locations of EHD-suspect deer at the township level.

State wildlife officials say that although EHD-related deer deaths have occurred on and off in Michigan since 2006 and the disease has been seen for decades in many areas of the U.S., it’s expected that hunters will have questions about what they’re experiencing locally.

“We have heard from hunters who are concerned about deer losses in their hunting areas and want more information about where EHD is occurring,” said Brent Rudolph, deer, elk, and moose management specialist for the DNR Wildlife Division. “Creating and updating this map as reports come in is one tangible way we can help hunters and the public be more confident about where EHD has been reported in their communities.”

Explore the map on the DNR’s EHD webpage.

Understanding EHD in Michigan Read more

By HEATHER JOHNSON DUROCHER
Writer, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

We’re carefully walking single-file across a narrow, wood-planked bridge at the south end of Mirror Lake – steps from where we’re about to pitch our tents for the night – when Katie slows to a stop and looks out at the calm, aptly named body of water whose shores are lined with towering old-growth hemlock, white pine and a mix of hardwoods.

“You might hear a strange sound in the middle of the night,” she says, leaning slightly against her smooth, hand-carved Smokey Bear walking stick clutched in her right hand.

Before she can say more, I’m picturing mischievous raccoons scurrying and sniffing after dusk. Or possibly – hopefully not – a mama black bear, picking up a scent and investigating the half dozen tents our group of backpackers will use for sleep here in the backcountry, beneath a black velvet night sky dotted with stars.

But Katie’s explanation is unexpected: “You might hear the slap of a beaver’s tail on the water,” she says as we take in the scenic, seemingly untouched view before us, the just-starting-to-turn maple trees casting crimson reflections across the water’s still surface. “It can be pretty loud.” Beaver tail-slapping, Katie goes on to share, is a classic alarm signal – a defensive warning used when a beaver detects a predator, another beaver or a human near its lodge or territory. It’s yet another interesting nature tidbit shared during our three-day beginner backpacking trek at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the western Upper Peninsula. A couple of weeks after this late-September trip, I’ll tell my colleague Katie Urban – one of our two backpacking guides and the park interpreter at the Porkies – that these wildlife wonders and fascinating flora and fauna stories along the trail were big highlights of my hiking experience with her and six others. Read more

Contact: John Pepin, 906-226-1352

DNR continues monitoring Rugged Terrain Complex and two smaller fires in the UP

In recent days, the Ridge Fire in Marquette County grew by about 30 acres on its west side due to winds pushing the blaze, bringing the overall fire to almost 500 acres. Despite that, it remains well within firefighters’ confinement strategy.

Winds also contributed to two other Upper Peninsula fires over the weekend: a four-acre fire in Marquette Township near Wetmore Pond, which firefighters refer to as the Game 2 Fire, and an 11-acre fire in Sands Township known as the Silver Leaf Fire. Michigan Department of Natural Resources firefighters worked with local fire departments to battle those fires.

The Ridge Fire is still burning deep in the duff layer of the forest floor, composed of fallen leaves and organic matter.

This fire is about 10 miles northwest of Marquette, between County Road 510 and North Basin Drive. It was spotted by airplane Oct. 9 and is part of the Rugged Terrain Complex, which also includes the 606-acre Craig Lake Fire in Baraga County and the 350-acre Black River Fire near Wakefield.

“We continue to monitor it daily from the air and on the ground, and we’re keeping a close watch on it, so we can continue to hold and improve the lines that we have,” said Peter Glover, fire supervisor in the DNR’s Gwinn Unit.

The same steep rocky terrain that has made the Ridge Fire difficult to fight also contributes to keeping it from spreading, Glover said. Trails and roads also help keep fire from spreading.

“There are a lot of natural features that check this fire,” Glover said. “What’s going to stop this fire and put it out is season-ending rain and/or snow.”

Glover said people who live near the Ridge Fire may still see and smell smoke, depending on the direction of the wind.

Other Rugged Terrain Complex fires are largely contained and within the same footprint they have been.

“The DNR Is continuing to monitor all of these daily, and we have good plans in place,” Glover said.

As always, the DNR reminds people to check Michigan.gov/BurnPermit before planning to burn yard debris or start a campfire, and to have an accessible water source nearby. For more fire safety tips, visit Michigan.gov/PreventWildfires.